Author: Ali Sheikho Brazi
Published in: al-Hiwar
Origin of the Name and Early Formation
Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) derives its name from the word Kompanî, referring to the German company that constructed the railway in the area in 1911. The settlement lies between the villages of Kaniya Mişidê and Kaniya Ereban. Following the Armenian migration to the area in 1915, the locality developed into a small town, and local inhabitants adopted the name “Kobani” as a localized transformation of Company. This linguistic transformation resembles other foreign terms that entered the local language for commercial, industrial, or political reasons.
During the Ottoman period, the name recorded in official registers was Areb Pînar, which remains in the civil registry of Kobani. In Arabic, this corresponds to Ayn Arab, attributed by local tradition to a person named Arabo, although historical sources suggest an older origin linked to Arabs of the Harran region.
Geographical and Administrative Context
Kaniya Ereban constitutes the eastern part of the city, while Kaniya Mişidê (Meşhed Pînar), meaning Ayn Mashhad and associated with a religious figure named Mashhad al-Nur, forms the western section. The area gained commercial importance after separation from its original urban center, Suruç, due to the establishment of international borders between modern Turkey and Syria. The population south of the railway, primarily from the Barazi tribal confederation, popularized the name Kobani.
Administratively, both villages were part of Suruç prior to their incorporation into the modern Syrian state following the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, similar to other Kurdish villages previously affiliated with Suruç and Birecik.
Historical Background of Suruç
Historically, the Kobani region belonged to the district of Suruç, located eight kilometers north within present-day Turkey. Suruç was a major city in the Jazira al-Furat region, situated on caravan routes connecting Aleppo with Urfa, and Raqqa with Samosata. It functioned as a key commercial hub on Silk Road routes between Mosul and Aleppo and was known for industries such as silk, textiles, and Bedouin hair tents. Ottoman-era Suruç Plain was among the richest agricultural zones in Aleppo Vilayet.
The city bore ancient names including Osrhoene, Batna, and Serog, reportedly linked to Serog, the grandfather of Ibrahim al-Khalil, Abu Azar. In the Assyrian era, it was known as Tabartip.
Pre-Islamic and Islamic Periods
Before Islam, Jazira al-Furat was divided between Byzantine Romans and Sasanian Kurds, as recorded by Abu Yusuf Ya‘qub in Kitab al-Kharaj. During the Rashidun Caliphate, Iyad ibn Ghanm led campaigns in the region, concluding a peace treaty with Suruç in 17 AH / 639 AD. Yaqut al-Hamawi described Suruç and cited poetry referencing it.
Despite its size, Suruç featured prominently in historical works due to its agriculture, fortifications, and resilience. Ibn Shaddad and al-Baladhuri documented its conquest and resistance patterns.
Kurdish Dynasties and Medieval Rule
Suruç came under Roman, Hamdanid, and later the Dostikî Kurdish State (the Marwanid Kurdish State). According to Abd al-Raqib Yusuf, this state encompassed wide territories including Diyar Bakr, Mardin, Siirt, Bitlis, and Urfa. After Marwanid rule, the region remained contested between Byzantines and Muslims. In 1144, Imad al-Din Zangi regained Suruç, followed by Ayyubid control in 1183 under Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi.
Mongol, Mamluk, and Ottoman Periods
The Mongol invasion between 1242–1244 devastated the region, leaving it sparsely populated until Ottoman rule. Under the Mamluks and later the Ottomans, the region gradually recovered. Sultan Selim I incorporated Syria after the Battle of Marj Dabiq in 1516, and by 1534 the Ottomans controlled Jazira al-Furat.
The Barazi tribal confederation, inhabitants of the Kobani region, resided in Suruç Plain prior to Ottoman arrival. This confederation played a significant political and military role for four centuries, bounded by the Euphrates, Balikh River, and Urfa highlands. Sharaf Khan al-Bidlisi mentioned the Barazi as early as 750 AD.
Demography, Tribes, and Ottoman Records
Ottoman Salname of Aleppo Vilayet (1867–1908) provides extensive data on Suruç, including administrative councils, courts, schools, tribes, agriculture, water sources, and the Hamidiye Cavalry Regiments. The records confirm approximately 400 Kurdish villages north of the Euphrates by the late nineteenth century, with 97 villages in the present-day Kobani area, later totaling 159 villages.
French travelers such as Tavernier and Evliya Çelebi described the population as predominantly Kurdish and Turkmen, with silk production and agriculture as primary activities. No documented Arab presence north of the Euphrates before the nineteenth century, except for Harran, is indicated in the sources.
French Mandate and Resistance
After World War I, French forces entered the region. The Barazi resisted French occupation, including armed confrontations near Suruç, Urfa, and Birecik. General Gouraud deployed additional forces in 1922, and figures such as Bozan Beg and Mustafa Beg (Harço) were exiled to Damascus in 1930. Despite negotiations proposing a Kurdish emirate, the Barazi rejected cooperation with the occupier.
The Barazi actively supported the Syrian Great Revolt, the Hama uprising, and the Dandanash revolt. Adham Al-Jundi recorded the participation of Ahmad Agha al-Barazi, Khalid Darwish al-Barazi, Dr. Darwish al-Barazi, Saleh Darwish al-Barazi, and Ali Agha al-Barazi.
Formation of Kobani District and Later Periods
The Qada’ of Kobani (Areb Pînar) was established by Syrian parliamentary law on 4 January 1937 during the presidency of Hashim al-Atassi, with Areb Pînar as its center. French authorities planned the city’s infrastructure, remnants of which remain, such as the Serail building.
Under the Ba‘athist system, the region experienced discrimination, including Arabization of village names, land confiscation, exclusion of Kurdish youth from military service, lack of development projects, and deprivation of Euphrates irrigation despite proximity.
According to the 2004 census, the population reached 192,513, excluding thousands of Kurdish families who migrated after 1970. Additionally, 47 Kurdish villages formerly linked to Suruç were administratively attached to Girê Sipî (Tal Abyad) in Raqqa Governorate.
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